Key Takeaways
- AI is reshaping both offensive and defensive cybersecurity tactics, creating a pressing need for AI‑related skills across the workforce.
- Hack The Box’s global survey of over 702,000 professionals shows that security teams and MSSPs are under dual pressure: rapid AI‑driven threats and a widening skills gap.
- Organizations now expect MSSPs to act as strategic partners who can operationalize AI safely, validate AI‑driven defenses, and strengthen workforce readiness—not just provide monitoring or tool management.
- Training is shifting toward integrated “purple‑team” models, with defensive pros learning offensive tactics and vice‑versa, reflecting a converging skill set.
- Continuous validation, hands‑on simulations, and AI‑focused readiness exercises are becoming essential for MSSPs to keep pace with evolving threats.
- The future of managed security services lies in human‑AI collaboration, where AI augments speed and scale while experienced analysts drive decision‑making and investigations.
- MSSPs that combine validated AI capabilities with continuously trained human expertise—and that help clients redefine performance metrics around productivity, validation, and collaboration—will differentiate themselves in the agentic‑AI era.
AI’s Impact on the Cybersecurity Landscape
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is accelerating change on both sides of the cybersecurity battlefield. Threat actors are weaponizing AI to craft more sophisticated attacks, while defenders scramble to adopt the same technologies to stay ahead. Hack The Box’s Cybersecurity Workforce Intelligence Report underscores this dynamic, noting that AI has become a decisive factor separating those who can operationalize the technology from those who cannot. As a result, organizations are re‑evaluating how they train, plan, and allocate resources to cope with an AI‑infused threat environment.
Survey Findings Reveal Workforce Pressures
To quantify these shifts, Hack The Box surveyed more than 702,000 cybersecurity professionals spanning 251 countries and territories. The data show that the pressure is palpable inside corporate security teams and equally felt by Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), who are being asked to bridge a growing operational and AI‑driven skills gap. The sheer scale of the survey lends weight to the conclusion that AI‑related competencies are no longer optional but a core requirement for effective security operations.
Rising Priority of AI‑Related Skills
According to the report, AI‑focused abilities are climbing higher on the priority list for security teams. This includes not only technical know‑how—such as understanding model vulnerabilities—but also softer skills like risk assessment and ethical AI use. Integrated security teams are increasingly expected to blend traditional security disciplines with AI expertise, and practical areas such as penetration testing are receiving renewed emphasis as a means to test AI‑enhanced defenses.
CISOs Must Ensure AI Operational Readiness
Hack The Box founder and CEO Haris Pylarinos warned that AI acts as a barrier between defenders who can harness it effectively and those who cannot. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) therefore bear the responsibility of ensuring their teams can operate both with AI and, when necessary, without it. This dual capability is vital because AI systems may fail, be compromised, or be unsuitable for certain contexts, requiring human analysts to step in seamlessly.
Changing Expectations of MSSPs
Gerasimos Marketos, Hack The Box’s Chief Product Officer, explained that organizations are under simultaneous pressure from evolving AI‑driven threats and a persistent skills shortage. Consequently, MSSPs are no longer judged solely on their ability to monitor alerts or manage security tools. Clients now seek strategic partners who can help assess AI risk, validate AI‑driven operations, and continuously improve workforce readiness. The role of the MSSP is thus evolving from a service provider to a trusted advisor on AI security matters.
Focus on Specific AI Risks and Complementary Skills
The report highlights particular AI‑related threats that are capturing organizational attention: prompt injections (29%), model exploitations (24%), and agentic AI hijacking (12%). Awareness of these risks is reshaping training curricula, pushing security professionals to develop complementary capabilities across offensive and defensive domains. More than 68% of respondents indicated that defensive‑minded professionals are being trained in both defensive and offensive tactics, while offensive practitioners—though primarily focused on offensive skills (93%)—are increasingly incorporating defensive techniques (44%+).
Emergence of Purple‑Team Models
This blending of skill sets reflects a broader maturation toward “purple‑team” structures, where traditional red (offensive) and blue (defensive) teams collaborate throughout the full defense cycle—from testing and validation to active defense. The report’s authors argue that what appears as an offensive‑heavy trend is, in practice, a converging skill model in which professionals across roles build overlapping capabilities to operate more effectively within modern security programs.
The Need for Continuous Testing and Validation
Marketos emphasized that legacy training approaches struggle to keep pace with AI‑driven change. For MSSPs, this means moving beyond one‑off deployments of AI tools and instead investing in continuous validation and hands‑on skill development. Organizations must routinely test AI‑driven workflows, security agents, and analyst response capabilities to ensure they remain secure against emerging threats. Demonstrated, practical skills are now valued more highly than theoretical knowledge alone.
MSSPs as Continuous Cyber Readiness Partners
Looking ahead, Marketos predicts that MSSPs will evolve into “continuous cyber readiness partners.” Customers will increasingly expect providers to help assess AI risk, validate AI‑driven operations, and measure how both human analysts and autonomous systems perform against new threats. This shift necessitates dynamic workforce development models that can adapt as attack techniques and defensive workflows evolve at AI speed.
Human‑AI Collaboration as a Differentiator
Even in an AI‑centric era, the ideal scenario is not the replacement of human defenders but a collaborative model where AI enhances speed and scale while experienced analysts drive decision‑making, investigations, and strategic oversight. MSSPs that successfully blend validated AI capabilities with continuously trained human expertise—and that provide metrics showing business value such as analyst productivity, response validation, automation effectiveness, and the quality of human‑AI collaboration—will stand out. In the agentic‑AI landscape, this balance between automation and human judgment is poised to become a major competitive advantage for managed security services.